Could You
by Citca-Kun
Summary: I'm her friend and friends look out for one another. Besides, her "assistant" is a freak, and is around her too many hours out of the day. I don't like him, and I don't like him around her. What if he tries something? I mean, he's a he and she's a she.
1. NO

Disclaimer: I wish I owned this manga

* * *

Chapter One: NO

* * *

"Could you say no to him?" I ask, intently staring at the waitress at the other end of the restaurant.

"Say no to whom?" Yako asks, staring at me and absent-mindedly swirling her ramen around.

"Your…..assistant……" I say, fiddling with my napkin. "He's not really your assistant, is he?" I look at her, and meet her eyes. She looks away quickly.

"I-I- I don't understand, of course he really is my assistant."

Her phone rang.

_Figures._

"I've got to go!" She says, taking one last, scary-huge bite of her ramen.

I watch her leave. My best friend of…how many years now? Seven? Eight? Twelve? I don't even know anymore.

.

I am left alone at the table.

.

"Ma'am, are you finished with your meal? Would you like your check now?" the waitress asks.

.

"Yes please."


	2. WHY?

Disclaimer: No I don't own this series, and never will.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Yako-chan

"Yako-chan." She looks up, a smile at the corners of her mouth.

"He's not your assistant, he's your boss. I know that." I say.

The smile disappears.

"Don't even try to deny it, okay? And I don't care why you lied to me." I look into her eyes. There is a glimmer of fear.

.

Why?

.

Why does that glimmer appear whenever I get near the truth?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

AN: these first few chapters are short for a reason, you'll see that soon ....

Thanks for all the reviews, they really make me happy.


	3. FAVOR

Disclaimer:Ya know....I wouldn't be writing this iffn i owned it....nya.

* * *

Favor

* * *

Another meal.

We chat about the usual. I don't bring up her boss again.

She's more relaxed this time.

When the end of the meal comes, as it usually does, I am surprised to see her boss at the door this time.

He smiles pleasantly at me.

I return the favor.

We make small chitchat, and part ways.

I watch them go.

I watch him trip her, and then kick her while she's down.

.

I turn away, unable to help my friend.

.

I am unable to even try.

.

I cry inside.

* * *

A.N.: sorry for another short chapter....gomen


	4. God,She's Slow

Disclaimer: nottamine.

* * *

God, She's Slow

* * *

"As I asked before, Yako-chan. Could you say no?"

.

She gives me a dull eyed, 'what?' expression.

.

.

"Kanae-chan, I don't understand-" I wave a hand to silence her.

"To him…Yako….to HIM…Your 'assistant'" I use air quotes around "assistant"….

.

I have now sunken to a new low.

.

"Refuse him. Say no."

"Errr…say no as in…?"

"Yako…" I growl. This girl. She is either feigning ignorance, or she is really stupid. Really, really stupid. I feel myself growing angry.

"Are you seriously that stupid?" I hiss.

.

She's wearing "the hurt puppy face"....my gawd.... I haven't done anything wrong yet! I really hate that face. She looks at me like I either kicked her or stole her food. You ever have brown eyes like that stare at you? I'll tell ya, it makes you feel like you're a bad, bad person.....I persevere.

.

Focus.

.

I take a deep breath, and start again. "He is not normal! He is sick, and twisted, and he is treating you like shit! And you're only _working _for him."

I lower my voice. "You are_, __only_ working for him, right?"

Her eyebrows furrow, she nods.

"yee-aahh. What else would I-" she cuts herself off; A bright red tinge hits her cheeks, and she hurriedly consumes more food, trying to hide her embarrassment.

When she pauses, she looks up at me; from her face I can tell she finally understands my question.

God she's slow.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I don't get an answer until a week later, at our next lunch together.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Well?" I ask.

"Well what?" she innocently replies.

I slammed my fork down. Hard. China dishes and glass rattled.

"Yako, you know what!" I glared at her; she fiddled with her napkin. She mumbles something.

"What?" I ask as our food arrives. Yako has ordered less this time.

.

Odd.

.

"I don't know." She says, reaching for the soy sauce. "I don't think he'd do anything like that."

"And why not?" I ask irritated.

She shrugs.

"Would you say 'no' though?"

"Of course…that's…just…with him….." she shudders, emphasizing her point. I smile and laugh a little. She does too.

"He is pretty creepy"

Yako nods, "Exactly why."

.

.

I relax a little.

Only a little.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Her 'assistant' is waiting for her. I see him before our check arrives.

"Oh, by the way Yako, this meal is on you. I've paid for the last five. I'll meet you outside." She splutters random words as I get up and walk out.

Her "assistant" and I need to have a little chat.

* * *

A.N: will edit later.

.

this uber sux.

.

most definently redit.


	5. The TALK

Disclaimer: Psh-yeah. as if anything i wrote would happen.

* * *

The TALK

* * *

"Hello!" he chirps.

"Afternoon, Yako-chan's-boss." I reply. His smile freezes for a moment, before he starts to deny it hurriedly. I frown and hold up a hand.

"Shut it. You're her boss, not the other way around, and any fool with a pair of eyes can see that." I meet his eyes.

_Green_.

Huh. Pretty color.

"I have one question. Would you ever take advantage of Yako-chan?" He blinks; I _assume_ he's at a loss for words.

.

.

_Or_ he doesn't understand the question.

.

.

.

Maybe he's as dense as Yako is.

.

.

.

"Advantage?" He asks innocently.

.

.

.

Nope, he understood.

.

.

.

Something writhes in my gut. Not a good feeling.

"As in?" he asks, the pseudo-innocent look still plastered on his face.

"Sexual. In any way, shape or form." I reply.

I shift to look at the traffic. It's fairly busy today. The train will be crowded today.

_Great_.

He takes too long to reply. I glance at him again, he's looking intently at the ground, head held in one hand. He seems like he's thinking.

Maybe he really didn't understand.

Or he's trying to decide if he would.

Or should.

Crap. I should've just kept my mouth shut.

"Listen." I say. He looks up with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. "If you do anything of that sort to Yako, I will personally hunt you down, and tear you to pieces, comprendé?"

He gives me a puzzled look, and Yako comes out of the restaurant. I think it's time to leave.

"Well, I'll see you later, Yako-chan" I say quickly as I turn and leave.

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+

Stupid me. I had to ask.

_WHY? _

_WHY?_

_WHYWHYWHYWHYWHY??????_

.

.

.

.

.

.

'Cause I look out for my friends.

* * *

As the young lady known as Kanae walks away, Neuro smacks the back of Yako's head.

"She's rather bright…"he says. "She's figured out that you're not really the boss. How careless of you, wood louse."

.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

.

It wasn't until the train ride back to the office that Neuro spoke again.

"She seemed concerned for your well being." He stated. Yako visibly stiffened.

"So, that was what you two were talking about."

"You do know her concern is unfounded, right?" He waited for a reply.

.

.

He didn't get one.

.

.

* * *

A.N: Not done yet.


	6. STUDY

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own this series or its characters.I'm flattered that you think I will.

* * *

Chapter two:

Worried Concerned Break

* * *

I sat glued in front of the television.

No way.

.

.

.

.

.

No effing way.

.

.

.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yako came to school the next week with a broken leg.

She smiled and told me it was okay, that, no, it doesn't hurt much.

.

Anymore.

.

She tells me how she misses her old life, and how there is just too much excitement in her current one.

She chatters about a new restaurant with supposedly cheap and good food. An unlimited buffet.

I tell her about a food eating competition next week. I tell her about the amazing grand prize.

She exclaims over how much money that is, and no way, they aren't serious about the trip for the winner and ten friends to a local amusement park.

I tell her the time, and then we proceed to plan what else we're going to be doing that day.

I tell her I saw some of it, the case, on the news, and how I was really freaked out. I ask her about her leg and the case for the first time.

.

She grins stupidly and tells me how it happened.

.

She fell.

.

Or rather jumped.

.

It didn't hurt until she started walking on it.

.

.

I make a joke about her lack of nerve cells.

.

And brain cells.

.

She laughs.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

.

When we go to the contest, her 'assistant' is there as well. He smiles politely. I do the same. We watch as the contestants get ready to start.

We chat about how much she can eat.

We chat about how it _might_ be physically possible, and explainable, if she happened to have a dimensional rift in her stomach.

.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The trip is set for a month after Yako gets her cast off. Yay.

She and I chatter about it on the train ride home.

Her assistant is still with us.

He's pleasant enough with me, but with Yako….

Well…. same old, same old.

Even though her leg is broken.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-

Another day.

Another lunch.

Another empty wallet for me.

.

We pay for our lunches and head for the door.

For some odd reason, her assistant has started to come with us for our lunch dates.

I get the feeling that he's being _just a little_ possessive.

We walk through the unusually light crowds toward the subway. I'm a little ahead of them, even though I'm walking at a slower speed than normal.

Yako moves _really_ slowly with that cast.

I hear something.

I turn and look at Yako and her assistant. He's tripped her again, but this time she makes a genuine sound of pain.

No words, no eye contact, just noise.

I can't see her face, but I can hear her whimper. Her assistant looks caught off guard, but he sees me looking at him strangely and quickly composes himself.

My friend makes another pained noise.

I try to move to her side, but her assistance cuts me off.

"Kanae-san, I think it's time we left for home. I can take care of her from here."

"That's what I'm afraid of." I blurt out. I hold the impulse to cover my mouth and looked shocked.

.

.

Because I really did not mean for that to come out.

I meant it, but I shouldn't have said it.

Stupid me.

It was rude of me….

So rude.

Rude.

_Rude_.

Ruderuderuderuderude-

.

.

"Kanae, It's s'okay, really.." Yako says, her eyes are still hidden by her bangs. "Just go home. You've got that test in science tomorrow, right?" something very uncomfortable twists in my stomach, and it wasn't the lo mien I just had.

.

.

I don't want to leave her with this……_freak_.

.

.

.

Her assistant, Neuro, reaches for her bag and I take a step foreword, but something made me stop.

_His face._

I glanced at his face and I paused; there was something odd about the expression he was wearing. He was wearing an expression I had never, _ever_ seen before on his face.

Concern.

_Genuine _concern.

"Since you insist," I say casually, flipping my hair, "but you study too, don't think that I've forgotten that YOU have a math test and a history test. You study. If you flunk those, your paying for both of our lunches for the rest of the year."

.

She fakes a laugh.

.

I relax a little and start on my way. Turning at the corner to look back at them, I watched them go. I his head bent, talking to her. She shook her head. I watched him ask something else. She nodded. They turned and walked, or in Yako's case, hobbled away.

.

Her assistant holding her bag and doing what he could to help her. The way he walked next to her…..

I dunno….

It seemed like he was worried. But then again…I don't know him well.

.

I watch them walk slowly.

.

Nah, that's a worried walk.

_Or I'm a prairie dog. _

_.  
_

I'm rethinking my earlier judgment. Maybe he was being protective of her earlier, not possessive.

I mean, he was hanging around her a lot. I mean more than usual, ya know?

Had he been worried about her?

.

I thought about it.

.

Seems like.

Course, he has a fairly peculiar way of _showing_ it.

.

I start to walk forward again, but I pause and do a double take. His free hand _is_ firmly wrapped around her upper arm.

.

Eh, maybe a little possessive.

.

They cross the road and turn a corner, and I lose sight of them.

I go home and study.

.

.

* * *

A.N: So, How am I doing?

also, see that cute button down there with the words review? please click it, for me? I don't care if you flame me or not, i just need some sort of feed back. Seriously. Us authors need some sort of feedback. Most of our readers are far off, and we don't have any local support, ya'know? It's nice to know that we're not the only kind of people who enjoy this.

*cough* pardon the rant.

Also, for those of you who constantly review, here's a cookie. Much love to you all.

also,

**Misbetown**, your review really touched my heart. thank you. It made me squeal and giggle like the nerdy fangirl I am.

for **Unknown D Flamerose**, thanks for the consitancy with most of my stories. seriously.

to **the scarlet Pencil**, I hope this is living up to your expectations.

and to **the grim squeaker**, this will not be a KxY fic, but i promise to write you a short drabble, m'kay?

Thanks everyone.


	7. Phone

_Disclaimer: Like I would own this. XD_

* * *

Chapter 7:

Phone

_

* * *

_

**RECAP:**

_I'm rethinking my earlier judgment. Maybe he was being protective of her earlier, not possessive._

_I mean, he was hanging around her a lot. I mean more than usual, ya know?_

_Had he been worried about her?_

_._

_I thought about it._

_._

_Seems like._

_Course, he has a fairly peculiar way of __showing it._

_._

_I start to walk forward again, but I pause and do a double take. His free hand __is firmly wrapped around her upper arm._

_._

_Eh, maybe a little possessive._

_._

_They cross the road and turn a corner, and I lose sight of them._

_I go home and study._

_._

_._

_._

_

* * *

_

.

**_Many months later_~**

.

* * *

I'm waiting for Yako at the office she works at. The door was unlocked, so I let myself in.

It's a nice enough office; neat and organized, comfy couches. It was pleasant, so I crack open my most recent library book, a book of laws and regulations. One in a long line of many. I've been reading them for months. They're actually very entertaining.

So I wait.

A man lets himself in, a giant gash that's bleeding profusely on his forehead. He nearly jumps when he sees me.

"Who the fuck're you?"

"A friend of Yako's. Who're you?"

"I-I work for…her."

"O-Oh."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I am now waiting with one of Yako's employees. He's patched up his injury.

It's very quiet.

.

.

.

I'm afraid to talk to him; he looks like yakuza.

.

.

.

.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

We both get up when the door opens.

I cringe.

Looking at them _makes_ my bones hurt.

There's blood everywhere, but I see no visible wounds on either of them.

Although, I'm actually rather annoyed that Neuro is carrying my friend like a sack of potatoes.

I'm also kind of wierded out by the fact that he is carrying her.

I don't really think about WHY he is carrying her until he throws her on the couch.

And I mean he THROWS her.

She makes this very loud WHUMPH when she lands.

.

.

.

.

.

"What happened?" I asked, quickly looking over her to see if she's all right. She is. Sorta.

A little bit bruised (_probably by Neuro_), a few scratches (_also probably_ _from Neuro)_, and dirt everywhere.

But alive, with no more broken bones.

"What are you doing here, Kanae-chan?"

"You missed our lunch, and weren't answering your phone, so I came here to wait. I was worried. What happened?"

"A case….went….wierd."

_Weird_?

"So that's why _he,_" I indicate Neuro with a jerk of my head, "was carrying you?"

" Well, I lost my crutches." She nervously laughed.

_Lost…..her…crutches….._

_A Lie_.

"So where'd all the blood come from, or rather, whom did it come from?" I turned to Neuro. "Did you kill some one? Because you don't look like you're openly bleeding, and that's a lot of blood."

Everyone just kinda stared at me.

"Are any of you going to give me an answer?" No answer. From anyone. I sighed, and pulled out my cell phone and dialed a number. I'm not going to put up with this anymore. I'm not going to walk away and ignore my friend's danger.

Not anymore. Not again.

"Who are you calling?" Yako asked, curious and nervous. I ignored her, and concentrated on the phone.

"Hello?" the voice said.

I've finally gotten the whole story from Mr. Sasazuka.

There was shooting at the last case. When the culprit was identified, he refused to give up. He started shooting; there were eyewitnesses that said they saw the culprit shoot at the young detective and her assistant, and some even said he even hit Yako or Neuro, or both. But both came out of it uninjured, although covered in blood. The culprit then went into some convulsions and started screaming….but he was quickly restrained and carted off to prison.

And this led to Yako losing her crutches, about a gallon of blood being splattered over the both of them, and my friend being carried home like a sack of potatoes. Some how. Of course, the blood on the two was attributed to one of the other policemen who got hit, or some other kind of rubbish excuse.

Right. Well then…..

This did not make me happy. It made me incredibly mad.

This lunatic of a boss was putting my best friend in harms way more and more. He was constantly being covered for, and it wasn't safe! It wasn't right!

So, I've decided to do something about it. I haven't been going through law books for pleasure.

Now, in the last couple of months I've been trying to figure out how I can help my best friend with her predicament. I've looked up more than enough laws about working conditions and past law cases on dangerous jobs. I've looked up past precedents and what is considered unsafe, as well as all the legal stuff that goes with it. I can honestly, truthfully, and happily say that Yako's working conditions are horrible, and most certainly don't follow regulations. If I report these, and file charges, I'm pretty sure I could close the agency.

.

And now, thanks to my anger and my big mouth, now the aforementioned agency knows that too.

.

* * *

A.N: Hey peeps. Sorry it took so long. I….had to deal with life.

I'm in college now. And I've had some….problems with unrelated things. I also kinda fell out of anime for about 4 months.

But the manga, and your reviews….kinda made me want to write again.

I've rewritten this chapter at least 4 times in the last month, and the next chapter…is kinda outlined. I'll try to get it out soon.

I know the ending, and I'll definently finish this story.

I apologize now, because it will take time.

Remember, I'm in college and I'm working, so most of my free time is studying or sleeping. I'll try though.

So, I'll see ya'll later.

Good hunting, ya'll.


	8. Case of

A.N: Still don't own the series. Still don't own any of the characters. Some liberties have been taking with the character Kanae, although I do hope that she is still in character. As we don't see much of her in the manga, we shall never know. Eh. Oh well. Here's the next chapter, short as it is, and I hope you enjoy it. Thank You.

* * *

_Chapter 8:_

_Case of_ [drama]

* * *

I have come to the conclusion that it'd be better for me to follow the both of them on one of their…..jobs…..or….maybe at work.

.

.

.

That's what I said as I left the office.

.

Right when I left the office.

.

Before anyone could say anything.

.

.

Their faces….were….for lack of a better, word, Priceless.

.

.

.

Or stunned.

.

Stunned would have been a better word, now that I'm thinking of it.

.

* * *

.

"Kanae! Wait!" A voice called after me.

.

Crap.

.

.

.

.

She's coming after me. Crap.

.

* * *

.

"Kanae! Please!" Yako begged, trailing after me like a puppy with a broken leg. a puppy which was having great difficulty keeping up, what with that broken leg, lack of crutches, and the obvious fact that I was high-tailing it out of there. Although this "puppy" was working extremely hard to do so. And it has to hurt. I mean, it was a broken leg, for Christ sake! Poor, poor girl. But not to be deterred; I have business to attend to, and business that needs to be attended to. Immediately.

.

.

For her own good.

.

.

"Kanae! Please! J-Just slow down! Kanae! Hold on a moment! Just a moment! Kanae! KAN-" Yako's begging cut off mid-whine, followed shortly by a 'whump' sound. I glanced over my shoulder to see her sprawled across the pavement. Silly girl had tripped over her own cast.

I sighed, and being the good friend I am, as well as the idiot I am, I went back. And picked her up.

Leaning on me, we hobbled over to a nearby bench.

"Just hear me out, Kanae-chan." Yako said, gripping my arm, "It's not as bad as you think. He isn't as abusive as he seems. He just-"

"But he's still abusive." I state. Yako shrugged, glancing at something to her side.

"Please. Give him a chance. Why don't you….uh…why don't you…." Yako searched, trying to think of something. I thought, too. I thought back to my original statement at the office.

"Kanae! No! You can't go with me to the office! It's..uh…boring." I paced around my bedroom, running through my rehearsed script. Yako was on the other end of the phone, also in her room. Or she should be. I hope. Of course, she might still be at wor-….no….She went home. Like I told her. Yeah.

"Then I'll come with you to the next case." I sat down on my bed, fingers brushing the comforter, momentarily thinking about earlier; I had dropped her off at the train station after her tripping and falling spat display earlier. We decided we'd think about it and call each other later. And so here we were.

"NO!" Yako shouted; I was surprised at the amount of force in her reply, flinching slightly.

"O-Okay then, Yako-chan. I'll come with you to work on Monday."

"NO! NOT THAT EITHER!" Yako shrieked. "You can't do that…." I switched my phone to the other hand, and rubbed my ringing ear. This was frustrating.

"Well, Yako, I have to do one or the other, or I'm heading downtown and reporting this. Our agreement was that you'd show me at least a few days of what it's like to work with you. If you can't do even a single day, I'm just going to have to-"

"Kanae, please-"

"I'M JUST GOING TO HAVE TO GO DOWNTOWN AND-"

"KANAE! FINE!" Yako shouted, "NEXT CASE. YOU CAN COME. THROUGH THE WHOLE THING. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!"

"Yes, yes I-" The phone clicked.

.

.

.

.

Did….she….just…hang up on me?

.

.

.

.

She did.

.

.

.SHE JUST HUNG UP ON ME!

.

.

Gah. Why do I put up with this?

.

.

The things we do for friends.

.

Seriously.

.

.

.

.

* * *

A.N: So, Here it is. Many months later, and not really long. I hope it still is up to snuff with the earlier chapters, and I hope there are still readers to enjoy it.

It has been hectic, as money is tight, school is hard, work is eating my life, my MP3 died, my computer hard drive broke, and I've been fighting with doctors, dentists and trying to get an apartment. Not to mention other life issues. I promise this story will be finished by December of 2010 or February of 2011. I swear.

Chapter nine should be up by June or so. Thankies. And thanks for being so patient.

**Edit**:

This is directed to those that keep say "update soon!".

I see another comment with like, two words, followed by that phrase, and there won't BE anymore updates. My life is going down the crapper, and I cannot "update soon!" like you so desire. Thank you.


	9. Case of beer

A.N: MTNN not owned by me.

* * *

Could You : Chapter Nine

Case of [beer]

* * *

It's eight in the morning and I want beer.

.

Not because it's eight in the morning. No no.

.

It's because I was woken up by my cell phone ringing.

.

Now, normally I don't mind it. Most days I am woken up in this very same manner, usually by Rika or Yako or Anzu or Nao. Hell, I actually like waking up this way.

Nothing like gossip first thing in the morning to make you want to spring out of bed and go chat about it in person.

.

No.

.

Not today.

Man, I really want a beer.

Why? Not because I was called at eight in the morning, but because ofwho_was_calling_me._

.

.

So my phone rang. At eight in the morning. Same as usual, and sleepy, groggy, terrible me flips it open and I _mutter-grumble-slur_ out the words "rello? Kanae-chan…speaking?"

.

And then I hear the voice. The voice that makes me desire a beer so terribly much.

.

.

.

"Good morning Kanae~San~!" the "_assistant's_" voice chirped out of my phone. "I'm calling on the behalf of ~sensei this wonder~ful morning! I just want to remind you that we have a case today, and we'll be leaving the office around nine-thirty! If you want, we can stop over at your place or you can meet us here at the office~! Whichever you prefer Kanae~san!" he said in the most annoying, sing-songy voice I'd ever heard that early in the morning (_although Rika would give him a run for his money on the days she didn't decaf her coffee_).

.

But I woke up to that voice. With all of its musical qualities that belong to birds and parrots, not male assistants, and all of its "'s" and such. Seriously, what guy puts that many "~'s" in their sentences?

.

Can you see why I want a beer?

.

So I told him that I'd meet them there, there was no need to pick me up at my house (_I didn't want him knowing where I lived_), and he wished me a " good~morning, and _I_ _am _looking~ foreward~ to work~ing with _you_!"

And then I went to get my morning drink.

...

Drink as in coffee.

Not alcohol.

Coffee.

Coffee….I told myself….coffee….

But maybe if I spike it with vodka…..

No, no…coffee. With vanilla creamer…..

We have vanilla vodka…hm….

No…just creamer. And my half a spoon of sugar.

Coffee….

.

.

.

So. I had my depressingly non-alcoholic coffee, had my waffle and non-alcoholic syrup, and had gotten dressed, completely sober. Called in to alert the school that I was going to be missing that day and that my teachers had already been forewarned of this, and then I made my way down to the office of my best friend and the creeper.

.

.

.

It was a busy traffic morning, as usual. Same clogged streets, subways, roads, etc.

.

.

.

Now I bet all of you are expecting that I was late and that they had left without me, off to have some adventure whilst I was left behind pondering what (_or who_) they're doing.

.

Sorry, wrong trope. You want "obviously story plot", "interfering friend" and "Sappy romance" in the next aisle.

.

.

.

So, no, I was not late. I was actually early. Early enough to hear his happily, creepy chirping voice singing about the case we were going on.

I opened the door to reveal my best friend and her subordinate/superior parakeet-thing looking at a computer screen. Both of whom were chattering animatedly about the case. Or so I assumed.

"Researching stuff?" I ask, standing in the doorway. Something in my peripheral vision twitched. I shot a quick glance over at the wall. The only thing there was a white dry erase board that had a short to-do list on it.

I could've sworn there was a rat or something hairy over there.

"-we're looking over some info we found up on the client and the victim. The client is the victim's third cousin's husband's youngest nephew. The victim is a twenty-two year old female. Her name was Isaye Kobayashi, and was working for a cosmetics company, and was rather high up. She was never married, but was known to have a good fling or two every few months. ."

.

Yako said, scribbling down a few more things. "Okay, ready to go. Kanae, ready?"

I nodded, and, with a glance to the strange wall, turned and followed them out of the office.

.

.

.

It took us about half an hour to make our way over to the area where the…crime…was…committed….were we investigating a murder?

I had forgotten to ask.

Ew. This is going to suck.

Mainly because I just remembered Yako never, ever gets the nice tidy deaths. No, she and her boss always get the gory, room covering gorn-fest murders.

Always.

But, we got there. There was the standard cops cars, cops trucks, yellow "do not cross" tape, and, of course, all of the standard cops milling about outside of the rather large building (of which I'll elaborate on later). Now, don't get me wrong, our standard police force are a valuable part of our society….just….most of them seem a tad slow on the whole murder-solving thing. or maybe it's just our city's cops.

.

.

.

.

"Hello, Sasazuka-san!" Yako cried, waving to the older cop. Neuro and I hung back; myself, because I've only briefly met the cop and his partner; Neuro, I have no idea why.

She started talking to the older detective-cop man, blah blah blah. Neuro eventually joined in their riveting discussion_, _which ended up in this equally riveting discussion, of which I have transcribed as closely as I could, just for you:

.

.

.

"_Blah-cop talk-blah-something useful-blah-more cop speak-grumble grumble-something useful to those who know the jargon- blah-blah"_

"_Something-language-language- blah-jargon-stuff-stuff-more grumbling-yadda-poprocks-yadda-yadda-exclamation point-jargon-blah-blah-blah-blah"_

"_gibberish-wild hand gestures-blah-blah-dead-blah-blah-blah-found-blah-blah-blah-blah-pink-blah-blah-friggen-blah-blah-unicorns-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah_"

"_Blahddy-blah-technical jargon-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-lava lamp-blah-blah-blah-blah"_

.

.

.

So, long story short: We slipped by the preliminary cops, stopping to say "Hello" to the older cop, Sasazuka, with both Neuro and Yako spending some time going over things about the case with him.

And I confess, I didn't pay attention. Instead I watched the crazy antics of the younger cop. Kami knows what that kid was doing. It looked like he was trying to shoo away one of the department heads with an action figure of an oddly proportioned cat with mammalian features wearing a tophat, a handkerchief as a gun holster, what looked like a chainmail thong and a set of pasties that resembled high caliber bullet casings.

In other words, I was not paying a lick of attention to the "case debriefing," A.K.A a warning of what lay in the rooms ahead.

A forewarning that I should have listened to.

.

.

.

.

.

.

When we got to the crime scene, there was only one shining, glorious thought in my head.

_Damn, I want a beer_.

.

.

.

.

* * *

A.N:

Thanks for your patience.


	10. Case of Curiosities

Disclaimer: not mine. not the characters, not the series. Just this plot line. sorta.

* * *

Case of Curiosities

* * *

We exited the elevator, bypassed the yellow "do not cross-Police line" tape and entered the victim's flat.

It looked normal enough, if expensively decorated and loudly colored. We passed the genken, and I noticed several neon heels, stilettos and sandals all made by expensive designers, and, in an out-of-place-way, a pair of dingy sneakers.

"This way." Sasazuka stated, leading us passed the living room, which was full of abstract art.

.

I recognized one of them, made by the artist whose murder Yako helped solve. _Or was it her creepy boss who solved it? _

.

A large, tropical plant stood by a large window, a spray bottle sitting on the edge of the pot. I noticed a splatter of reddish-brown on the edge of one wall, opposite of an archway.

.

We filed into the kitchen, and there was the most disturbing of all things.

* * *

There was blood everywhere. It was brown, some of it a dusty dried layer, some of it a congealed, reddish smelly blobs. Glass shards laid everywhere, imbedded in the counters, ceiling, walls….even….a person.

.

.

.

She wasn't moving.

* * *

I dry heaved out in the hallway, my stomach being empty of things to expel; the young cop was trying to be helpful by holding my hair out of the way of the garbage can.

"First time seeing a body?" he asked, once I was finished, handing me a cup of water. I swished the water around, trying to get rid of the vomity taste. "I did the same thing. Except, I didn't make it out of the crime scene first." He chuckled. "Wrecked most of the evidence for that case. Almost got fired. Haha. The name's Ishigaki Jun, I'm Sasazuka's partner. You're Yako's friend, right?"

I spat the water out into the garbage can, and wiped my mouth.

"Kanae Kagohara. Nice to…meet you Ishigaki-san."

* * *

We headed back inside, I was uneasy spending more time outside. I needed to see what Yako and her boss did on cases.

.

I was not expecting to react so…..violently.

.

I took a deep breath and headed back into the kitchen.

.

"So, Yako. What's happened?" I asked, trying to look at everything except the body.

.

Did I mention she was missing part of her face?

I swear, I saw a _cheekbone_ earlier.

.

"Well, it seems like there was an explosion of some sort, from what looks like a lava lamp. It was set on the stove and it over heated, and …blew up." Yako said, looking at the dead….lady.

.

Ya know, she wasn't too much older than us. I felt the urge to vomit again, and tried to suppress it.

.

"So, accidental death?"

Please be an accident. That way we can go home.

PLEEEEAAASSSEEEE!

I am not liking being in the same room with a dead person.

"Looks like, but Neuro said he smells a myst- I mean, something suspicious." She tilted her head toward Neuro, who was inspecting the remnants of the lava lamp, "I heard him muttering something about how a normal lava lamp explosion wouldn't normally have cause all of this damage. That it-"

"It would have normally just severely scalded her. The cap would have blown off, and the insides, made up of Mineral oil, wax and alcohol would have sprayed everywhere. Worst case scenario, the inner materials would have caught on fire, and then burned out. Instead, she has several lacerations, and appears to have died of one of these wounds. Not of severe burns. "Neuro muttered, while Sasazuka leaned over and listened in. Neuro noticed, and hurriedly chirped a "Right sensei?"

Or, I think that's what happened. It's not like I have a bias against this creep of a boss.

"Yes. Indeed." Yako said, with what seemed practiced ease.

"Sasazuka-san, has the forensics team figured the cause of death? And does she have any lacerations? Are any deep enough to have cut or impaled important body tissues? How bad are the burns?" Yako asked, watching a small mob of people in blue-black uniforms scribble some last notes and finally put the person in a body bag.

Sasazuku raised a sheet on a clipboard he had, and read from it. "Several minor lacerations in the chest, face and neck area, severe burning about face, chest, neck, shoulders and hands. It looks like a large shard scraped her jugular, and another went into her rib cage, we're not sure how deep yet though. The lab will send me the official report when they're finished."

.

There was silence, and I looked around the room again, feeling better about it since the corpse was gone.

.

It was still pretty bad, what with all the blood.

Everywhere.

There was a condensed spray of glass on the wall behind the stove, and large, wider spay in front of it. The stove still had the bottom of the lava lamp adhered to it, a burnt black. There was a greasy, burnt residue over the entire stove and the nearby counters.

"So, _how does_ a lava lamp explode?" I asked.

"Normally from the top out, unless there was extreme pressure or an outside force working on it. Sometimes the larger lamps will explode differently" Ishigaki said, appearing behind Sasazuka. "Nowadays though, there's normally a safety cap on them, to prevent that kind of pressure buildup."

.

We all stared at him.

.

"Where'd you learn that kind of obscure and incriminating knowledge?" Neuro asked, pretty much voicing all of our thoughts. Iskigaki shrugged.

"I watch a lot of foreign shows. They did a special on things you could explode on a hotplate on an episode of Myths: Confirmed or Busted."

I looked over at the remnants scattered all over the floor, while the assistant babbled on about what kind of things could explode on a hot plate (a can of beans, soda, pot pies, etc). "Did this lamp have a safety cap?"

"No, the lab guys found the top; it was a bottle cap kind."

"So this was plausibly an accident?" Yako asked, looking at the remains of the lava lamp.

"Yes, but the wounds that kill her say otherwise-"

"But is there evidence that this was anything other than….."

.

At that point I stopped following the conversation between Yako and Sasazuka. I instead watched her "assistant."

.

.

He was acting very oddly. He was tilting his head every few seconds, every which way, as if listening to, or listening for something, or a multitude of something's.

After a minute or so of doing this, he went over to the cupboards, and started going through them.

.

What was he hoping to find?

.

Second breakfast?

.

A snack?

.

A camera that conveniently had a photo of the murderer (if there was one) caught in the act?

.

.

.

.

When he was finished with the cupboards, he started going through the drawers. The second to last one seemed to hold what he was looking for.

"-And so that's who called you in? I'd like to talk to her in a little bit, after she's calmed down? Hey, Kanae."

"Kanae…"

"Kanae…"

"Yoo-hoo, Kanae…"

"Kanae…. Hey! Kanae!" I snapped back to the conversation Yako was having, which, seemed to have turned toward me.

.

"Yes?"

"Listen, can you go with Ishigaki and go talk to the victims friend? She'd in the other room, hyperventilating, last I heard. I'll catch up in a few minutes. I need to talk to Neuro about the stuff Sasazuka just told me."

"Got it." I said, looking over at the young cop.

.

Oh.

.

Goody.

* * *

A.N:

The title comes from a taxidermy museum I noticed with googling "case of". It caught my attention and fit with the story. Also, brownie points to anyone who knows the Ishigaki is talking about. Heehee.

Only another three chapters before it's done. :)

See you later, everyone.

Update: 2-19

Just some minor grammar and writing changes. Yay me.


	11. Basket Case Part A

Chapter 11 (_Part _A):

Basket Case

* * *

The friend was in one of the bedrooms.

Hyperventilating.

.

.

"How do we get her to stop hyperventilating?" The young cop, Ishigaki, whispered over as we stood at the threshold.

.

"I don't know!" I hadn't seen a person….like this….in a long while.

.

"Well try!" Me. Try. _Really Ishigaki_? REALLY?

.

"Why me? Shouldn't you have been trained for this kind of shit?"

.

"Because I've never _had_ training! They've never _actually_ let me talk to anyone for longer than a few moments!"

.

"Well, you're the cop. So….go talk to her!"

* * *

"Hello, we're here with the police department and we just wish to talk to you about your friend-"

"You're here to-to-to t-talk about her accident?"

"Well, ask questions about it, yes."

"Asking questions wuh-w-won't b-b-bring my b-best f-friend b-baaaaaaaaccccckkkk!" the lady wailed, and promptly started to sob hysterically.

"Well, she stopped hyperventilating!" Ishigaki said, forcing a smile. I didn't smile.

Shoot.

Me.

Now.

I deal with crying enough during exams at school.

* * *

"How do we get her to stop crying?"

"I don't know!"

"But, don't you deal with this kind of stuff in school?"

"kinda…..but-"

"We already tried using 'the cop' method. Your turn."

* * *

Sorry, I didn't mean shoot me _then_.

I meant shoot me _now__._

* * *

I sat down on the bed next to her; placing one arm around her back, and the other on her shoulder.

"Hey. Hey, Miss. Hey. Ssshhhhhh…It's okay. You've just lost your best friend. It will be okay. Shhh. Just let it all out." I alternated between patting her shoulder and rubbing her back. She leaned into me and sobbed. Hard.

Wow, this brings back memories.

"shhhhh…..It'll get better." I murmured. Her sobs shook her whole body.

"It'll get better, eventually."

.

.

.

_Eventually_.

.

.

.

* * *

By the time Yako, the older cop and the creeper made they're way back to us, the friend, whatever her name was, had more or less calmed down.

Only the occasional sob.

"Hello there, Miss-?" Yako asked, hobbling in closer on her crutches.

Forgot she still had those, huh?

_I didn't._

"Hiroaki Kameko,"

"Miss Hiroaki, I'm Katsuragi Yako, and we need to ask you a few questions."

"Kameko is fine, little detective. Ask you're q-questions."

"Just the basic questions for now. How did you know the victim, who are you, what did you see, etc."

.

.

.

.

"I was a close friend of Kobayashi Isaye. We've known each other for a little over two years. We both were in the same volunteer club in college. I work for a special effects and fireworks company. I was talking to Isaye over the phone, and she suggested that I come over to look at the new product catalog for the upcoming season. I'd been over for a little while, It was like, 2:30 in the morning, and we started getting hungry, so I went out to get some bentos from the 24 hour convenience store down the street. It was my fault…that she's….d-d-dead…..It took me longer than I had expected; I got sidetracked and then it took forever to find Isaye's requested bento, and there was a new girl at the register. It was just a lot of little time drains. I mean, I could've gotten back in time to help her or something. I could have called an ambulance sooner. Or I could've…I don't know. I could have done something. I could have…."She sniffed, her eyes tearing up. "I could have saved my best f-friend!"

She burst into tears again and leaned into my shoulder.

Yako sat down on the other side of Kameko, patting her back. "It's okay. You couldn't have known."

Kameko's crying toned itself down to a small whimpering.

"Can you tell us what yo saw when you came back in?"

"I came in. It was quiet, which is normal when Isaye went through a new product catalog. She focuses really hard. Like, tunnel vision hard. But there was this funny smell. It smelt like she had burnt something. Again, kind of normal. She didn't really cook all that well, either. She was into the yoga stuff and the incense burning. Some of her incense smelled like burning rubber so I thought that was what the smell was. But, in the living room, there was no incense in the burner, and no candles were lit. and Isaye wasn't there."

"Were you guys looking at the catalog in the living room?"

"Yes. She liked to color code the products with what clothes were going to be in style the next season. She had friends in one of those high-end fashion companies; they often gave her information and stuff. I figured she had gone to her room to get something, or touch up her makeup, or something silly like that. So I put the food on the coffee table, and headed toward the kitchen to get some condiments and some better chopsticks. And then….I….saw my friend. On the ground. In…a…in..a….Pool of….- and she… She…she was still…..she was still…still….." her friend choked on a sob.

.

.

"_She was still alive._" Kameko whispered, a new round of tears sprung from her eyes. "_Still alive!_"

.

.

There was silence in the room as we processed what she said. My breathe hitched and I sat there, numbly, her crying on my side, Yako rubbing her back.

I desperately wanted out of there.

I didn't want to be here.

Too much death.

Too much sorrow.

Too much pain.

"_She was still alive!_"

Too much horror.

_I can't take this.

* * *

_

AN: Yes, the friend's name means something. Lol.

There should only be about 2 more chapters, and then an epilogue. Thanks all of you for continuing to read and review. I intend to get this done by starts up at the end of May. The epiloque is written already, and Chapter 11b is halfway done. Having a little issue with Isaye's….well, that's a secret.

See ya next time peeps. Thanks again, and don't forget to review and tell me what you think.


	12. The Assistant

Chapter 11 (Part B):

The Assistant

* * *

I can't take this.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

It was Ishigaki. "_Breathe_!" He whispered to me. "You're turning blue!"

I inhaled deeply. I didn't realize I had…. Stopped breathing…..

"I called an ambulance as soon as I realized that she was…was…hurt. And…I tried to stop the b-bleeding. I used a wad of paper towels. They weren't open, so I figured they'd be sterile. I tried to follow the procedures for first aide. But….well. What they teach you in class didn't really help here. There was too much blood. Too much. And she was hurt. And….and….the ambulance didn't seem to come fast enough. I don't even know when she died. If she died while I was there, of if the EMT's were there. I don't know. I just don't know. She was fine earlier today. And now she's…..d-dead. Gone…and…

"_She was gone_."

We took a break after that.

And by break, I mean, Yako and I went outside and waited until Kameko stopped crying.

"So…what do you think?" I asked.

"I don't know, Kanae." Yako said, shifting her crutches around. "I don't know what it is, but something is off about this case. Or about Kameko. I'm not sure. Of course, grief that strong…well…"

"So, what's next?"

"Well, Neuro is calling all of the victims other friends and family. He's… _confirming_ a few things. Me, you, Sasazuka and the rest of the people here are waiting on the report from the lab guys."

"Won't that take a while?"

"No. Sasazuka put a rush job on it. Also, the lab guys know that when they see me, it's best to get the results to me quickly."

"Why?"

"Because Neuro really creeps them out. One time, they didn't move fast enough to make him happy. So he hovered. And hovered. And hovered. Nothing _technically_ illegal. Just….creepy."

Huh.

Sounds like him.

There was a slamming noise from the front of the apartment, and some yelling.

A young, flamboyantly dressed man came storming in, yelling. He yelled for Isaye, for Kameko, for someone's supervisor, for someone competent, and so on.

And then he saw Yako….and started swearing.

"What are these…these…_kids_…doing here? This is a crime scene, not a friggen peep show."

"Ah. You must be Isaye's Assistant. Thanks for coming in." Sasazuka said, pulling out a small notepad. It was yellow, and had a combination of scribbles (most likely belonging to the young cops) and neat, scratchy notes, names and what looked like phone numbers.

"How is she? The person who called said I needed to come over, that she was seriously hurt and that there were cops here and….." The assistant looked over at the wall with a brown splatter, and frowned. "What is that? Is that paint? Although it's an ugly shade of…"

"Oh."

"Oh my. Is that…is that _blood_? It is. Isn't it…uh. Whew…I…I think I need to sit down. W-Where is Isaye? What happened?" The assistant eased himself down onto one of the couches footstools, one hand cradling his forehead. He was pale, his mind not quiet believing what his eyes were showing him.

"I'm sorry to inform you. Miss Isaye died this morning at approximately 3:30 am today, cause of death is not known, although it seems to be accidental. It's still under investigation and we would like to ask you some questions."

"Such as?"

"Where were you from 1:30 to 4:30 this morning?"

"I was at home. Asleep. Unlike some people, I have a normal sleep schedule. Where's Kameko? I need to speak to her. That bit-"

"Is there someone that can verify that you where at home asleep?"

"Yes, check my apartment complex videos. Jiko, the doorman saw me come in. Oh, and my neighbor, lives next door. She spies on me. Talk to her. She should have a record of when I left and returned to my apartment for the last three weeks."

Sasazuka waved to one of the other cops, who left. Presumably to go check it out.

"Now that we're done with asking me inane, useless questions, where's that bitch Kameko? She had a hand in this, I know it. That lying little…You need to ask her what the _hell_ she was doing here."

"We already have. She was here helping Isaye with some work project."

"Bullshit. Kameko and Isaye haven't talked in over two weeks. Ever since the fight in the office."

"We reconciled, little assistant." Kameko said, leaning against the wall of the living room, her reddened eyes narrowed and face blotchy.

"When? Two minutes before she died?" the assistant hissed.

"I think we need to talk to the both of you, separately. Take Miss Kameko back to the bedroom. Sir, stay where you are."

"My name is Juro Mareo. Most people call me Ma~chan."

"And what was your relationship with Miss Isaye?"

"She was my employer, and let me tell you, Miss Isaye was not on good terms with Kameko. They had a fight about two weeks ago. They were always very close before that. I mean, _very _close. I suspected they were…but never mind. They had a fight, you see. In Miss Isaye's office. Now, Kameko almost never comes to the office. She's out of place there, being an explosives person, right? Doesn't really fit in with the cosmetics crowd, you see. I mean, just look at her skin. She doesn't take care of it at all." He said, a strangely happier emphasis in his speech when he was talking about cosmetics. "But they had a huge fight. Real falling out. The whole department was eavesdropping in on it."

"Do you know what was said during the argument?"

"I'd rather not. It was a very, very personal matter. And I'm not too sure how much of it would be _useful_ to _you_."

"Sir, we need to know what was said during that argument."

"No. It wasn't any of my business, and I'll not say a thing to filth up my employer's name."

* * *

A.N:

Sorry it's taken me so long. I've been in college...and then dropped out of college, picked up a full time job, was fired...Went back to school, found friends who I felt a connection with, moved in with them...Had a falling out with them and moved out...It's been a busy couple of years...and through that...this has been sitting on my computer. Through innumerable hard drive crashes, two broken computers, and over 4000 miles of travel...I figured I'd post it now.

Not sure who still is reading this...as my writing was shit (I was young)...but I will try to finish this.


End file.
